Brothers with Springfield ties responsible for 'Echelon 8' look to new series, 'Circle of 8'

SPRINGFIELD – After a secret CIA team was unable to act on intelligence that could have prevented the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the United States, a new team known as Echelon 8 has been assembled to carry out dangerous and shadowy missions dealing with national security.

Brothers David E. and Kevin M. Wenzel appear in it and played significant roles in its production. Kevin is also co-writer.

The 2009 film is now available for viewing on websites such as iTunes and Netflix.

David, 45, formerly of Springfield, is the lead actor in “Echelon 8.” He currently lives in Hoboken, N.J., and is the head of development for the company he and his brother have formed,Next Evolution Productions.

He said he has been influenced by actors like Brad Pitt and “high quality, A-list” producers and directors who have helped him acquire “great knowledge” about the entertainment industry.

David studied martial arts and is a fourth-degree black belt in Issin-Ryu Okinawa Karate and holds three national titles. He has appeared in a variety of television series, films and daytime serials including “Rescue Me,” “New Amsterdam,” “Extreme Forensics” and “Lipstick Jungle.”

His film work includes “Old Dogs” and “Duck Hunt.” He has worked as Pitt’s stand-in/photo double for the last 10 years, beginning with the film “Sleepers.”

He is certified as a Special Weapons and Tactics/tactical officer specializing in urban entry and worked as a creative consultant on the television movie “The Hacking Chronicles.”

The husband and father of three children, Kevin, 44, drew upon his 16 years in law enforcement to write a script, “E-8 Think Tank.”

It was conceived when David called Kevin from the set of the film, “Burn After Reading,” where he was standing in/photo-doubling for Pitt. The brothers had once discussed writing a series based on the concept of domestic surveillance and the CIA. David, then frustrated with his acting career, told Kevin, “If we don’t write something ourselves, I’m never going to make it in this industry.”

As had always been true for David in his acting career, when the right opportunity didn’t present itself, he created it.

Though it was shown in film festivals, it did not get picked up for national distribution, and the brothers reworked the “Think Tank” project for “Echelon 8.”

David, who moved to New York City when he was about 25, said that action films, police dramas and law shows are programs the public always will watch. The stories might be the same but “with a different twist,” he said.

Kevin, a 44-year-old graduate of Springfield Technical High School Class of 1986 earned a bachelor’s degree in business law with a minor in economics from the University of Miami and worked in a variety of law enforcement positions including for five years with the Department of Defense police for the U.S. Air Force at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee.

He said he has no desire to leave Springfield for Hollywood because “nothing holds a candle to being a father” and being involved in his children’s school and sports activities.

David, a 1985 graduate of Springfield Technical High School, is married and has experience in the fields of dance and modeling and has played Hamlet seven times Off Broadway in New York City.

The Wenzel brothers are the sons of Shirley Searles of East Longmeadow and Robert Wenzel of Holyoke.

They are working on early-stage development for a series called “Circle of 8,” what Kevin called a “shock and awe drama” about a Special Weapons and Tactics team that is killed.

Such dramas are in his comfort zone because of his law enforcement background, he said, adding that with the dramatizations “we go to extremes to try and capture attention.”

"Echelon 8" is produced by Valenti Vision Films in association with Silver Phoenix Productions.